There's a new area code in town

Residents of the borough have almost exhausted the telephone number sequences for the 646 area code, the last of the available three-digit codes for Manhattan.

The second set of digits in every phone number combination is known as the "prefix," explained John Manning, senior director at the North American Numbering Plan Administration, which administers and assigns telephone numbers in the United States. And there is a finite quantity of 800 prefixes appointed to every area code.

The newest code, 332, will serve roughly 8 million residents, meaning Manhattanites will be covered for at least 30 years, Manning said.

Devised in the late 1940s as one of the earliest area codes in the North American Numbering Plan, 212 ran out in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal. While 917, the first code to be used across all five boroughs, has also been used up, 646, introduced in 1999, is expected to officially run out of prefixes by October.

Why 332? "There's not really a lot of magic [in choosing the digits]," said Manning, adding that a number is selected if it hasn't been used before in the region to avoid confusion among callers.

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